Where Hell Resides
by ShadowClaw07
Summary: In the heat of a war on demons, or the worries of searching for lost power, or even on uneventful days, the greatest danger can sometimes reside in our own minds. Despair and character death await the Elgang in their sleep. A collection of nightmares looking at some of the characters obvious and not so obvious fears.
1. Elsword

**New fanfiction idea! Yay! Let's hope I can actually finish this one. As a word of warning, some, if not all, chapters will end on a cliffhanger of some sort. These will not be addressed in this fanfic, and instead serve as topics for future fanfics that I feel like writing.**

Where Hell Resides

Act 1: Elsword

Elsword laid on his bed, already dreading his choice. Just one night's sleep, that's all he needed. Just one reprieve from this constant war with demons. As his eyes closed for the night, his mind offered no such mercy.

Elsword shot up to a sitting position. Noise. Had some Glitters snuck into the camp? Elsword quietly got off his bed and picked up his greatsword, moving outside his tent. For a second, he could have sworn he was in the past. Red hair like fire flowed in the night time wind and glowed in the faint torchlight. Her back was turned to him, just like when they were kids. "No way…" Elsword found himself speaking aloud, as if just speaking the words would make the hallucination vanish. Instead, she turned around, and Elsword looked at his sister's smiling face. "Finally found you, Els. It's been years." Elsword tried to take a step towards his sister, but found himself stuck in place. She was right there, why wouldn't his legs move? Really, feet? Now isn't the time to be dumbfounded! Elsword was on the verge of smacking his knee with the hilt of his sword when he saw the flash of light soar through the air. Followed by two more. Suddenly, the sky was filled with flaming arrows, raining down upon the camp. The air was suddenly filled with panicked shouts, cries of pain, and the sound of metal on wood. Elesis looked around. "A raid?! Elsword, we should go!" Her voice was filled with worry for his own good as she held out her hand for him to take. Elsword reached for it, his legs still unable to move. Her hand, however, remained just out of his reach. He put as much effort as he could muster to move towards her hand, but just as his fingers reached hers, a sword fell from the sky and pierced her heart. Elsword eyes widened as he saw his sister fall to the ground, dead before she touched the dirt. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. Matters only got worse as a familiar red haired knight walked up and pulled out the hiltless sword from his sister's corpse. Elsword's mind drew a blank as he came face to face with….himself? The hair was spikier and blackened in some places, and he wore very odd clothes, but he felt that this was him. How, though, could there be two of him? As elsword pondered what odd demon magic this was, Aisha ran right by him, tugging on the strange doppelganger's arm. "Elsword, we have to go! The Glitters have already taken the southern bra-" The purple haired mage was silenced quickly as this strange boy raised his hand to her face. A quick hand movement, and a sword pierced her neck from behind. "Shut up." The words were spoken coldly as the sword swiftly cut off her head. Elsword fell to his knees. This was a nightmare, it had to be. He began frantically trying to wake himself as the rest of the Elgang showed up. Before they even had a chance to react, however, the dark Elsword raised his hand to the air, swords rising from the ground, impaling each of them, before a flick of his wrist rained swords down upon the bodies of his friends. As Elsword saw the last people he cared about fall to the ground, torn apart by these strange attacks, he finally regained the ability to speak. And the first and only word he was able to shout that night was an ear-shattering scream.

Elsword shot up to a sitting position. Light peeked in through the tent. Another restless night. Elsword pounded the small table next to his bed. He wasn't sure whether the dreams or the Glitters were the worst threat to his safety. As he swung his feet off the bed, and walked over to his greatsword, he felt some sort of looming sense of dread in the back of his mind.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains, a boy checked his spiky hair in a lake. He held up his hand, a sword appearing for him to grab. "About time to go take my place." The red head turned at the orange sky far off in the distance, the capital of Velder. "Enjoy your final days, Elsword, trapped in the heat of war. This time, neither side will be the winner." The boy licked his lips as he felt the souls of the dead warriors flow into his sword. "I'll eat all of you...and take my place in history as the first King of Shadows!"

**Yeah, cliche glimpse of the future! I'm so good at this stuff *sarcasm*. In any case, if you're interested in seeing more of this particular story, or can't wait to see another character's nightmare, then let me know in a review by checking out the box below. I'll see you all next time for another look at where hell resides.**


	2. Chung

**I am on a roll with the depressing stuff lately! This time we'll be peeking into the eyes of everyone's favorite gunslinger. After Vash, of course. **

Where Hell Resides

Act 2: Chung

A long, dark hallway. Shades of purple and blue dance like water along the walls. Here again. Chung sighed, would his mind ever let him have something interesting to dream about? As he walked down the repeating hallway for what felt like the hundredth time, he began to feel something strange welling up in his chest. He found himself walking faster down the corridor, the colors on the walls speeding up their eternal flow. This new sensation, the feeling that he was actually going somewhere. Chung sped up his pace even further as the feeling grew. What was at the end? Before long, Chung was sprinting at full speed. This time, he would find out the secret his mind was keeping hidden from him. Chung ran for what could have been a few minutes or an hour. All that mattered was the room he entered. A large octagonal room, with water flowing from the walls. As he stepped in, he found a lone Glitter sitting in the center of the room, head bowed, spear on the ground beside him. Chung wasted no time in pulling out his pistol, and shooting the Glitter in the head. The action was almost reflexive. However, what fell over was no longer a Glitter. Instead, Chung found himself staring at a dead Red Knight, shot in the head, lying at his feet. What had he done? As if the room had read his thoughts, one of the waterfalls suddenly reflected an image of a small house in Hamel's residential district. A small boy would was gripping his mother's hand stared off into the distance. "Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?" The woman merely stared outward for a moment, before ushering the child inside. "It's time you do your homework, son." As the two disappeared behind into the doorway, Chung saw two Glitters. A small child and a mother, standing where the two had just been, looking out as well for the father that would never come. Chung took several steps back. What the hell was going on? This room was not something normal. As he turned around to return to the hallway, where things were safe, he found himself staring at another wall. There was no hallway. Just the octagonal room, with it's eight waterfalls silently watching. Chung stood there, looking at nothing in particular, for what could have easily been an hour. A week maybe. Or was it a minute? Eventually, a few Glitters stepped out from behind some of the waterfalls. Chung readied his pistols as they raised their spears at him. Their attacks were swift, but with all the open space to maneuver, Chung was able to easily dodge their attacks and respond with well aimed shots. However, for every Glitter he killed, he felt as though the waterfalls again showed the mother and child Glitter. As more and more started to flow in, Chung felt his grip on himself loosening. He could feel the wicked smile growing on his face, a rush whenever he saw their blood splatter. His attacks became increasingly brutal, often unloading several rounds into a Glitter before he finished it off. What was happening? Chung watched himself as he began mindlessly slaughtering these Glitters, and also noticed the ever changing waterfall, reflecting more and more Glitters staring off into the unrewarding distance. An entire neighborhood of them must have been standing there. Chung screamed at himself to stop, to incapacitate rather than kill, to run rather than fight, for peace, not war. No matter how hard he pleaded with himself, however, his arms and legs refused to stop. As more and more Glitters fell, Chung realized he only had one hope. And for this hope, his arm obeyed. The last thing Chung saw as he put the Silver Shooter to his head was a razed village, the entire populace of Glitters watching.

Chung ripped his eyes open. He was alive? He sat up, taking in the familiar inn they were staying at in Hamel between battles. When had he become so foolish and heartless? Every Glitter had a story, a family to protect and support behind their attacks. Yet he had slaughtered them blindly like cattle. Chung shakily stood up, trying to balance himself, as though his dream had stolen his memory of how to steady himself. He needed time to think about this. The GLitters were living creatures too.

Helputt turned to Ran, the image of chung flashing off the orb. "He awakens to reason. Your demon magic has amounted to naught. Ran, who was staring forward with his fingers linked over his mouth in thought, merely chuckled. "No matter. All seven are blissfully unaware of our plans. Soon, the legendary Elgang shall tear itself apart in bloodlust."

**Yes, the second chapter was not Aisha, and I'm proud, screw the system! Anyway, if you enjoyed this particular subplot and would love to see more, or are looking forward to another character, let me know in a review and I might just push it higher up on my todo list. Until then, I'm done here, and I'll see you all again for another look at where hell resides.**


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